Yesterday, the Brazilian consumer protection agency, Procon, notified Itapemirim Transportes Aéreos demanding explanations for the suspension of its services.
The company, which has been operating for less than 6 months, is causing losses to thousands of consumers. For those customers affected, the first option is to be rebooked on a flight of another airline, but those who do not manage to be rescheduled should receive immediate reimbursement of the money paid for the tickets.
«This is not a case of flight cancellation due to major forces, such as weather conditions. In this case, it is disconcerting that a company that has just opened its doors would close them and harm so many passengers. We need to understand why it was authorized to operate there and then the company suspends its operations without giving any explanation to its customers,» said Fernando Capez, the Executive Director of Procon-SP.
Itapemirim can be fined up to US$ 2 million, as stipulated in the Consumer Defense Code, and also be forced to repair material and moral damages, through a public civil action to be filed against the company or against the partners.
«In the coming weeks, Procon-SP and the State Attorney General’s Office will monitor the situation to minimize the impacts on consumers and will be working towards reimbursement. We will request the immediate reimbursement of all passengers who cannot be rebooked on other flights and not in a 1-year period as established by law,» Capez adds.
As reported by our Brazilian partner Aeroin, in the notification, the company was inquired about the reasons for the decision to temporarily suspend its services; which ones were to be impacted, and for how long they would be affected; as well as how many passengers would be left without flights. It must also detail the number of tickets sold and those not used, as well as the destinations and routes involved.
Itapemirim should also explain if it made an individual communication to the affected passengers; the nature of such communication; what channels were available for customer service; and what is the action plan adopted for the maintenance of the assistance guaranteed by law.
